Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Three themes to come out of the recent SCS survey - Get a head start for the February exam!

Hi,

We recently sent out a CV to Strategic Case Study November students asking them to share their experiences of the SCS exam - SCS Experience Survey

Thanks to everyone that took to time to complete the survey, we've had a great response.

It appears that there are three key themes emerging from your feedback.

Many students said that their exam experience went reasonably well but there were also a number of challenges identified which is very useful learning for future students.So, here are the three main themes to come out of the survey:1. Identifying the requirementsOne of the key issues that was consistently mentioned was that students found it difficult to identify the exact requirements of the questions. This is obviously a fundamental problem as understanding the requirements is critical in writing a good answer and getting those important marks."I found the vaguer questions more difficult. Not knowing quite what the examiner wanted meant there was less conviction behind my answers, which may have made my answers weak""Perhaps the second question could have gone better, it possessed quite a vague requirement, with not an awful lot of theory able to be applied, nor much information in the unseen to shape an answer, very much had to think on your feet""Clarity in in the questions""Interpretation of the first question. Very ambiguous questions""Questions found to be too vague. If I knew exactly what was being asked. Found the examiner not clear and hence everything was left to guess work"2. Time ManagementAs always time management was raised as a significant issue for many students. We see this time and time again in most sittings which stresses the importance of effective answer planning and mock exam practice."Typing speed, make sure I was answering the question set. I am afraid I might not have given correct and long enough answers""Not enough time to complete. Hope to have a better planning for the answer during the exam""I could've written more points. There was not enough time"3. Mock Exam practice is vitalMany students said in hindsight they would have spent more time completing mock exams prior to their exam. The key benefits for them was that the mocks enabled them to perfect their exam techniques as well their knowledge. When we asked for tips for future students, they frequently stressed the importance of completing as many mocks as possible."Practice mock exams as they will give you a feeling of the time pressure you are under!""Mock exam practice with feedback, I cannot stress how useful this has been""Mock exam is key because it is 3 in one... case study + theory application + exam techniques"Learn from these experiencesThese three themes are a valuable insight into the experience of students in the November sitting. It's a great opportunity to learn from others to help you pass your exam.If you are planning to take the SCS exam in February and waiting for the pre-seen to be released, why not check out Study Text Part 1 and our Course Videos to find out how you can perfect your time management skills and really understanding the requirements of a question?This is the ideal time to make progress on these areas as your attention will soon be on the pre-seen materials.Study TextCourse Videos